Born in Cambridge, England, in 1948, Olivia Newton-John and family moved to Melbourne, Australia, when she was 5 years old. She became interested in singing early on, forming an all-girl band called Sol Four at the age of 15 years. She cut her first single in 1966, followed in 1973 by her first album Let Me Be There. This was a turning point in her career.
She went on to win four Grammy Awards and numerous other music awards, with five number one hits and 15 top-ten singles. She proved to be a versatile singer, performing anything. from rock songs to gentle folk songs and ballads, even the raunchy upbeat song “Physical”.
However, it was her co-starring role with John Travolta in the hit musical movie Grease in 1978 which really catapulted Olivia to fame. The Grease soundtrack is the most successful movie musical soundtrack in history. Her acting career continued with other film credits including Xanadu, Two of a Kind, and It’s My Party, and she also hosted the popular Wild Life TV show.
as Throughout the years, Olivia has held many environmental, animal welfare and humanitarian issues close to her heart. She has served as Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Environment Programme, and National Spokesperson for the Collette Chuda Environmental Fund (now the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition) the fund, named after Olivia’s close friend’s daughter who died of cancer, researches the environmental causes of cancer. Olivia continues to give back generously to the community, with acknowledgments by many charitable and environmental organisations, including the American Red Cross, the Environmental Media Association, the Women’s Guild of Cedar’s Sinai Medical Center, the Rainforest Alliance and Concept Cure. She has even co-written a children’s book, A Pig Tale, with an environmental theme.
This remarkable and talented woman has also gained royal recognition. In 1979, Queen Elizabeth presented her with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to Australian music. She has also been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia by the Queen for her “service to the entertainment industry as a singer and actor, and to the community through organisations supporting breast cancer treatment, education and training research, and the environment.”
In the 1990’s, Olivia’s journey took a different turn when she successfully -overcame her own battle with breast cancer. Her experience with cancer helped her to gain greater self-awareness and she has become a positive inspiration to millions of people with cancer. Olivia talks openly about her battle with breast cancer and she’s committed to promoting breast health awareness. She was involved in the creation of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in her hometown Melbourne, Australia. Her - healing spirit also led to the opening of the GAIA Retreat & Spa in Byron Bay, Australia.
In 1994, Olivia released an album entitled Gaia, with songs about respecting Other people’s beliefs, spirituality, love For humankind, saving the planet and preserving our trees and forests. Among mer recent musical achievements is the release of her CD Stronger Than Before in 2005, featuring songs of inspiration, courage and hope that relate to the complex emotions cancer patients and their loved ones experience. In the true spirit of Olivia’s generous, giving nature, a portion of this CD’s proceeds go to cancer research.
Her latest CD, Grace and Gratitude, released in September 2006, is a comforting and relaxing CD to promote spiritual balance and physical and emotional healing, with lyrics acknowledging a variety of belief systems, including Tibetan chants, prayers from Judaism and Islam and a poem from St. Francis of Assisi. The album was inspired by Olivia’s long-held belief in the healing power of music.
As a long-term breast cancer survivor, Olivia has first-hand experience of the importance of physical and emotional health, and especially the power of music. When she goes through challenges in her life, her way of getting through these times is by creating healing music for herself, and for the benefit of others.
In one of her more recent ventures, Olivia, along with other Hollywood stars, features on Deepak Chopra’s latest DVD The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (see Reviews p59). On this inspirational DVD, based on Deepak’s best-selling book, Olivia shares her personal story of challenges she has faced, and of her spiritual awakening and consciousness. The DVD also features new music by Olivia, inspired by her experience with the teachings from the book teachings about seven simple, but profound principles to create a successful and abundant life (see p10-11).
Olivia Newton-John is certainly a shining example to us all that living life by these principles really does work!